A Book Judged By Its Cover
by EmoGhost1995
Summary: Alice Kirkland is a prefect many people hate due to her personality. However, the new student, Alfred F. Jones, tries to find out what is really wrong with her. US x Fem!UK! Alfred x Fem!Arthur/Alice! WARNING: Hints of some abuse... Not too much though
1. She's a Loner

Do you know the phrase "Never judge a book by its cover"? The meaning of the phrase is quite obvious. It simply tells us to never judge something by appearance. Same goes to humans. One must never judge a human before he or she knows him or her properly. Unfortunately, though many people keep saying that, they do not practise what they preach. Many people get misunderstood because of that.

And one of those people was Alice Kirkland...

Alfred F. Jones, an American teenager with blonde hair, was a new student in Hetalia Academy. He had joined about a week ago. His half-brother, Matthew Williams, was already studying there, though not many people knew he existed. Matthew had helped to enroll Alfred but sadly, after he had helped his dear brother, Alfred soon forgot all about him. However, Matthew, obviously used to such treatment, ignored it. The American teen soon got really popular, with both the boys and the girls.

One day during recess, Alfred, sitting with the Bad Touch Trio, which consisted of Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Francis Bonnefoy and Gilbert Beilschmidt, spotted a blonde teenage girl with emerald eyes. Her skirt was not as short as many other girls but it was not too long either. She wore a tie, which showed that she was a prefect. Her long hair was tied up in two ponytails and she had rather thick eyebrows.

Alfred's fangirls noticed that the teenager's attention was elsewhere and immediately turned to look before rolling their eyes.

"Who's that?" the American asked as he took a bite on his burger.

Francis glanced at the female prefect before he replied, "That, mon ami, is Alice Kirkland."

Gilbert suddenly burst out laughing, "The awesome me remembers the time you tried flirting with her!"

"Merde! Don't say a word, Gilbert!" Francis groaned, embarrassed. There was a pause before he continued, "Still trying though..."

Alfred, curious, asked, "Wait, what happened?"

"Well, Francis here tried flirting with Alice over there. In the end, she punched him so hard in the face, he lost a few teeth and his nose broke. Oh that was hilarious!" Antonio explained, oblivious to the fact that Francis was glaring daggers at him.

One of the new student's fangirls rolled her eyes and commented, "Don't wait your time with her, Alfie! She's, like, not worth it! After all, she pretty much spends time alone doing her work! She totally thinks she's better than us!" It was either him, or Alfred saw Alice flinching the moment that sentence was said.

"Kesesese! Who cares? All we know is that she has a stick up her ass!" the albino commented, not noticing the blonde prefect flinching once again.

"G-Gil, I think she can hear you..."

"Darn right I can hear you, arse! The bell is nearly going to ring so if you do not want to be late for your next class, I suggest you get moving, you bloody gits!" Alice frowned, her arms crossed. She was British, Alfred noted. What, with her accent, it was really obvious.

"And you, Mister...?"

"Alfred F. Jones! Just call me Alfred!" the blonde grinned, trying to be friendly.

"...Whatever. Just get to class, Jones..." And with that, Alice started to walk off. The fans of Alfred were discussing terrible things about the girl but the blonde teen did not really notice. All he wondered was why she was acting as if the mean comments about her never affected her. He knew it did, seeing her flinch like that. But she still acted like it did not.

"Mon cheri, did I ever tell you how beautiful you look? How I always get lost in your eyes?" Alfred heard the French student speak, thus making him stop in his tracks to turn and look.

Alice groaned and rubbed her temples before replying, "Indeed, you have, Bonnefoy. And need I mention that you have said it to nearly half of the entire female students, you git?"

"But mon cheri-"

"Don't- Just... No tricks, Bonnefoy. Leave me alone..." the British girl muttered, glaring at the ground. She walked off to the corridors where many students were, not noticing that Alfred was still staring at her.

"I'm not beautiful..." was the only thing she muttered to herself as she walked off.

Alfred did not see the girl until the last lesson for the day. She was sitting alone by the window. Literally alone. The tables in front, behind, and beside her were empty. Everyone was spreading rumours about her and from the way the girl refused to look at anyone, Alfred could tell she could hear them.

"Alfie!" a high-pitched squeal came from a group of girls gathered together. It continued, "Alfie! Come sit with us!" But the teen did something that shocked many students and even angered some, he went to seat at the table right beside Alice. She blinked at him with widened eyes, shocked.

"Alfred-san! Are you insane?" Kiku Honda, a Japanese student, who was now sitting beside Alfred, asked. He continued, "I heard from Francis-san that she might rip your head off if you came too close!"

"Kiku, that's just stupid! He's probably just mad that Alice rejected him or something! She ain't not gonna kill you or anything!" the American laughed.

"...She is not going to..."

"Huh?"

"'Ain't not' is double negative," the British girl corrected, finally speaking. Alfred punched the air, glad, for some unknown reason, that the girl was talking to him. Alice frowned, "Dumb bloody git."

"I'm not a git! I'm the hero!" Alfred exclaimed, eyes literally gleaming. Many girls were now staring at him admiringly.

"...Change your seat. Now."

"Huh?"

"Change. Your. Seat."

"Why?" Alfred could not believe his ears. He most certainly was not expecting that. Many girls were now both happy and angry. Angry because Alice had the guts to tell Alfred F. Jones to change seats. Happy because there was now a chance Alfred may sit with them.

"Do you want everyone to think you're mad, you arse?" Alice whispered harshly.

"But... But you're a damsel in distress and as a hero, I have to save you!" the American exclaimed loudly, making Alice groan.

"I'm no damsel in distress so sod off!"

"If you're not in distress, why are you always alone?"

"It's none of your business!"

"What? Can't I try and be your friend?"

And that point, the entire class fell silent. Alfred F. Jones, the new student who was surprisingly popular, wanted to be friends with Alice Kirkland, the prefect whom everyone hated? Alice glared at the floor before she started to laugh.

"You... You don't make me laugh! You, Mister Popular whom everyone loves, wants to be friends with me? Don't joke around, Jones!" There was slight sorrow in her voice, Alfred could tell.

The teenager frowned and stared at the prefect seriously, answering in a straight face, "Yes."

And then, if possible, the room turned even more silent. No one really dared to breathe. Every student stared at Alfred, including Alice.

The noise only started again once the teacher entered to class, commenting on how quiet the class was. Everyone listened to the teacher's lecture and most of their attention was focused on it. That was why no one noticed the single tear that forced its way down Alice's cheek.

"...I don't deserve a friend..."

**A/N: This was harder than I thought… OTL**


	2. Getting To Know Alice

It almost seemed like forever but school was finally dismissed. Alfred tiredly packed his bag and strolled out of class, realizing that nearly everyone else had left.

He frowned to himself, completely focused on his thoughts. What the hell was wrong with Alice? Alfred did not see why people hated her so much. Sure, she seemed cold and slightly violent, but there were many others like that! And why did she not want any friends? She continuously pushed the American away during class. Voices broke Alfred's train of thoughts.

"Did you seriously think Alfie would go out with the likes of you?" a female voice exclaimed, anger present in her tone. It was the girl who had been following Alfred all day, trying to impress him. She had long hair with was let down and had a clip pinning her fringe to one side.

"Did you not hear me tell him off?" came the voice with the British accent.

"Stop acting like that! We all know that you're deliberately trying to get attention from acting so differently! Heck! I think you're acting like that just to get Alfred's attention!" a new voice stated. This girl had short hair which was dyed pink.

"I'm... I'm bloody not trying to get the attention of that dumb git!" Alice exclaimed, hesitating a little.

"Oh? Then why are you so different from us? Didn't your mom ever teach you how to behave? Oh, I know! You probably don't have a mom! She probably killed herself because she got such a failure of a daughter! An ugly one too! Look at your eyebrows, girl!" the first girl sneered as Alice winced. Alfred decided to step in and help. After all, he was the hero!

"Oh! Hey, Alfie! Guess what? Dumb Alice over here has no mom!" the girl with long hair smirked while the other female student laughed. Alice glared daggers at the ground and clenched her fists before she stomped off, the two girls laughing and pointing at her. However, the two Alfred fangirls ceased laughing when the blonde teenager chased after the British girl.

It was only when Alice had walked a few kilometres away from the school compound did Alfred manage to catch up. He called out, "Alice! Wait!"

The prefect stopped walking for a while, as if to think or hesitate, before she began to run off without glancing back. Unfortunately for Alice, the American caught up to her and grabbed her wrist before he asked, "Why do you keep avoiding me?" Alice could tell the frustration in his voice. She remained silent and when Alfred let go of her wrist, she crossed her arms and stubbornly looked away.

"Please, Alice! I want to help you if you have a problem!"

"Problem? You think I have a bloody problem? Alright, my problem is you! Now stop bothering me!" But of course, Alfred did not believe her and stopped her from leaving once again.

"Please..." The sincerity in the voice surprised the blonde prefect, making her stare at him with widened eyes. No one in her life had ever spoken to her like that. Alfred sighed when he saw the girl hesitating and said, "At least let me buy you an ice cream!" And before Alice could protest, Alfred's usual happy expression came back on and he pulled the British girl away.

"I... Thank you..." Alice uttered, but she was unsure if the other had heard her or not. Apparently, he did as he grinned at her, exclaiming a loud "You're welcome!"

What was that fuzzy and warm feeling in her chest? It was not bad but instead, it was... Pleasant. Was this how it felt like to be happy? Alice could not tell. How long had it been since that foreign feeling came anyway?

At the fast food restaurant, Alice could not help but to fidget uncomfortably, but when Alfred asked why, she did not reply. Suddenly, the American's iPhone vibrated and he fished it out from his pocket, realizing that it was a notification from Facebook. He was invited to the class' Facebook group when he first came to Hetalia Academy and found out that his classmates liked to spam the group's wall, so he was not really surprised when the notification was because of that.

Alfred was about to ignore it when a word, no, a name caught his attention - "Alice". Apologising politely, he headed to the male's restroom and opened the Facebook application. The girl who was bullying Alice, the one with the long hair and fringe clipped to the side, whose name was Elena, had posted something.

[Me and Laura just found out Alice has no mom! XD] Laura... Was that the girl with pink hair's name?

Immediately, comments started to appear on the post. Alfred could not help but to growl as he read on.

[OMFG! No kidding? No wonder she's such a biotch!]

[Hahaha! Looks like I made a mistake! She asked me something last time and I said "Your mom!". I totally didn't know she had a mom!]

Laura was the next to comment. [Her mom probably killed herself after getting such a fugly daughter!] Now, Alfred badly wanted to kill them all.

The American commented, [Are you sure she doesn't have a mom?]

Immediately, Elena replied, [OMG ALFIE! Stop trying to side with her! What did she do? Brainwash you?]

And Laura commented next, [THAT BITCH! She should die!]

[Laura, let's go spam her facebook wall! If one day she comes back to facebook and sees all the comments, she'll probably and finally kill herself!]

[She's so stupid for not setting up her facebook page right! Even strangers can comment on her wall!]

And the comments stopped. Alfred's eyes widened. Firstly, he did not know Alice had a Facebook, but it was expected since he had only just met her. Secondly, he wondered why nearly everyone in the class hated Alice that they were even bullying her and spreading rumours about her online!

After taking deep breaths to calm down, Alfred came out of the restroom, his usual grin plastered on his face. But the grin disappeared when he saw three boys in front of Alice.

"Alice, go home, now!" the one with red hair, the tallest one, slammed his fast on the table, making the blonde girl jump slightly. When Alice simply shook her head frantically, the other boy, one with orange hair, exclaimed, "Alice! Listen to your brother!" Wait... "Brother"?

"Can you two leave me alone for once? Ever since Mom and Dad died, you've been acting so... Argh! Gavin! Why don't you speak up?" Alice yelled, not caring that nearly everyone in the restaurant was staring. The American's eyes widened. Her parents really died? No wonder she seemed so upset when Elena and Laura said she had no mother.

The one called Gavin, the quiet one who had blonde hair and, like the others, had thick eyebrows, remained silent. He seemed unsure of what to say. Finally, the teenager replied, a Welsh accent present in his voice, "A-Actually... Perhaps we could let her stay out today... Right, Scott?"

The red-head, whose name was Scott, scowled and yelled, "What the hell, Gavin! Why are you siding with her?" Quietly, the Welsh boy muttered something that could not been heard. Scott's yelling at Gavin only seemed to anger the orange-haired teen.

"Don't yell at him! He's just too nice! It's not his fault, leathcheann!" Alfred noted that the orange-haired one was Irish.

"What the hell, Aidan? How dare you yell at me! I'm your freaking older brother, you dumbass!" Scott yelled, scottish accent present.

Alfred noticed Alice flinching each time her brothers yelled. The blonde prefect continuously mouthed the words "Shut up" as she covered her ears, hoping that the Lord was listening. Deciding that now was the right time, he went towards the table, not getting noticed by the two older brothers fighting. However, Gavin noticed, though Alfred did not realize that as he quietly pulled Alice away from her brothers. The third oldest brother softly smiled: Looked like his little sister had made a friend, even if she did not realize it.

Meanwhile, as they walked off, Alfred could not help but to confirm, "...Your... Parents are dead?" That seemed to surprise Alice, but she quickly started glaring at the ground. Alfred sighed, "It's alright... You don't have to tell me." Seeing Alfred so serious and polite was quite shocking for Alice; she was more used to the bubbly and annoying version of the teen. But then again, his attitude gave her an all new impression of him. Perhaps Alfred F. Jones was not as a dumbass as she thought he was? No no no! All humans are the same! This had got to be a trick!

Yes... A trick.

Immediately, Alice stuttered out a "Bye!" and ran away, leaving a very confused Alfred behind.

Humans... They are all the same. Perhaps Alfred had some hidden motive for being so friendly! Yes, it had to be! All the others who tried being friends with her only used her and ended up tossing her at one side like some old toy. No one truly loved her... No one at all...

**A/N: Um… Before you scold me or anything, I don't know if Wales, Scotland or Ireland have names so I made them up… Poor Alice is so confused now. Also, I don't picture Wales (Gavin) to be the kind to hurt his little sister and is more of the quiet one so… And I picture Ireland (Aidan) to like Gavin and is protective over him. As for Scotland (Scott)… Well, y'know :/**


	3. Sneak Peek of Alice's thoughts

She was so sure no one loved her. She was so sure that she was alone. Heck! She was even sure that her kind, but shy, brother secretly hated her!

"No one shall ever love you..."

Six words kept on repeating in her mind. She could still remember the man's and woman's voices very clearly. She could remember how it got more and more raspy, like the couple had difficulty speaking.

"They deserved it! They deserved to die! It's not my fault! So why? Why do big brothers Scott, Aidan and Gavin hate me? Why does Peter hate me too?" the girl would ask herself, pausing at that part before she continued, "I'm just someone with bad luck. Someone who's probably not even human, perhaps. Am I a demon or something? Why is my life so...?"

She wished she could cry, but her pride always prevented her from doing so most of the time. She wished she could die, but she was a coward. She wished she had never been born, but God just had to be cruel.

Parts of the night when her parents died replayed in her mind, making her wish it would stop.

"It's your fault they're dead!" Her oldest brother's voice would say after the incident replaying in her head stopped. The look of her Irish brother's face flashed through her mind. The tears and the crying from the Welsh and her youngest brother would also replay over and over.

When would it stop?

It was not her fault. They deserved it. The way her parents had hurt her as a child filled her heart with hatred. She hated how they blamed her for everything, how she was always beaten up and abused by her father when he was mad or drunk, how her mother never helped, and how they tried to abandon her. They deserved it! It was not her fault!... But why did she feel so guilty? Why did everyone in the family, especially Scott, blame her?

Why...?

"-Irkland... Miss Kirkland... Miss Kirkland!" And when a loud "Bang" could be heard, Alice woke up, immediately sitting up straight and tidying her hair. Apologizing to the teacher, Alice sighed and picked up her pen, jotting down the notes on the board.

That was the second or third time that day that she fell asleep in class. Alfred glanced at her worriedly, wondering if he should ask her what was wrong. Of course, he knew it would be futile as Alice would obviously not tell him.

"...Never even loved you in the first place. You were unwanted... Useless... Stupid... Trash..." was what Alfred caught the British whispering sadly to herself. Obviously, the prefect's mind was not in class. The last sentence caught the American's attention - "Everybody hates me..."

Everybody? Certainly not! No one in the world could be hated by every single human! Was Alice being pessimistic or was her way of thinking like that due to some experience? Alfred could not really tell, but his "hero" instincts were nagging at him to help Alice in every way he could.

"Alice~!" the American poked the British's skin as he called her, annoying her just a tad bit. She glared at him, frustrated, and Alfred asked, "Are you alright?"

It was a simple question. But it was good enough to make Alice forget how to breathe for a couple of seconds.

"Of course, I am! Do you see me doing anything weird, you dumb ninny?" she snapped.

"Well, you behave weir- Oops!" The glare that the British gave the American was enough to make him shut up for the rest of the day.

Alfred's curiousity of the girl only grew and grew; she was the weirdest person he had ever met. But why? Her three brothers seemed fine, besides the fact that the two older ones seemed to be mean to her. Oh wait, she had a younger brother named Peter, or so Alfred had heard. But that did not change things much...

Deciding it would be best to leave the girl alone for the day, Alfred simply pretended that she did not exist.

Little did he know that the damsel in distress somewhere deep inside of her started to cry even more.

_"Help me...!"_

But she was too proud to ask for help.

**A/N: So we start having a sneak peek of Alice's thoughts. Meh, okay, this chapter is crap. I know. But it's not my fault. _ I don't really have any more inspiration to write stories. Should I abandon this? :/**


	4. Gavin's Story on Alice

Alfred sighed as he packed his bag and left class. It had been a couple of days since Alice had began to act weird... Well, weirder. Was he, maybe, being too much of a busybody? All he wanted to do was just help though. For the past couple of days, Alfred tried asking the prefect what was wrong again and again, but the girl denied that anything was wrong.

Apparently in his daze, the American did not pay attention to where he was going and literally crashed into someone, making his fans, who were "secretly" following him, gasp.

"I-I'm sorry..." came the shy voice that strangely sounded familiar. No, it was not Matthew, it was... Wait, who was this guy anyway? He looked strangely familiar, as if Alfred had seen him somewhere. He looked a lot like Alice too. The boy had blonde hair and thick eyebrows and though he was obviously smaller in size, he seemed to be slightly older than the American.

Elena appeared from the mob of fans and grabbed the boy's collar before he could collect his books and walk off, and shouted loudly, "What the goddamned hell, Gavin! Like, watch where you're going! You bumped into my little Alfie!"

..."Gavin"?

Now that Alfred thought about it, he did recall hearing that name sometime before. Then he remembered.

Gavin was the third oldest of the Kirkland siblings and was apparently the most quiet, judging by what Alfred knew so far. It seemed like the boy did not mind Alice or even yell at her like the other two older boys, but according to what Alice muttered in her sleep during class, she thought that Gavin truly did not like her. Alfred had no idea whether that was true or not.

"I-I'm sorry!" the shy guy apologized yet again, hoping that the girl would release his collar. When she showed no signs of letting go and the other fans appeared to be getting more impatient and stuff, Alfred decided to help and he said, "Uh, Ella, it was just an accident! Plus it was my fault!"

The girl whined in an annoying way, "But Alfieeee! He should have noticed that you were coming!" She deliberately left out the part where Alfred got her name wrong.

"It was an accident!" the American repeated, making the girl pout, or at least, attempt to pout as adorably as she could, before she released the older boy's shirt.

Once again, the Welsh student apologized before he quickly grabbed his things and ran off. Alfred, who still had the desire to find out more on Alice, shouted a "Wait" before he ran after the student, who was faster than he seemed.

Thank goodness his fans were slower than him as Alfred was already tired of all the girls flirting with him all day and insulting Alice behind her back.

Finally catching up with Gavin outside the school gate, Alfred grabbed the teenager's arm to stop him, also making him drop his books, again, in the process.

"Shit...! Sorry," the younger said as he squatted down and began picking the books. Gavin did the same but did not utter a word.

When they were done and Gavin had finished dusting the books, Alfred scratched the back of his neck and nervously asked, "Uh... So why did you run off just now?"

"Brother Aidan might get mad if I'm home late..." was the simple reply. Whether it was the truth or not, Alfred did not know... An awkward silence filled the air as the two began walking before the Welsh asked, "You are Alice's friend, right?"

Alfred wished he could proudly say "Yes" but he sighed and replied, "I wish! Alice is kinda... Odd." Immediately, he apologized as he thought he had offended his new acquaintance.

"N-No, you don't have to apologize! It's kind of... True..." Gavin sighed sadly before he continued, "But please don't give up! I saw you and my sister at that fast food restaurant the other day and judging by Alice's expression, I would say that if anyone could be her friend, it would be you. It may sound c-cheesy, but it is true..."

Alfred was honestly slightly shocked at the reply. First, the Welsh was speaking more than the American thought he would. Second, he never knew Alice would think differently of him from the others.

"Alice's emotions are kind of... Conflicting..." At that, Alfred stared at Gavin as the sentence had captured his attention.

"Why? What happened?"

Gavin hesitated for a while before he softly said, "Promise you won't tell anyone anything...?" Alfred nodded before the Welsh continued, "I think you know that our parents are dead, right? Well, Alice is unsure if she should be happy or sad..."

Alfred grew more confused. Was this guy speaking in riddles or something? Upon seeing the confused expression, Gavin decided to explain more.

"Alice was an unwanted child. Our parents did not want a girl in the family, for some reason. You would think that it was just the ancient Chinese that preferred boys but apparently some families still prefer males now. Before our parents died, big brothers Scott and Aidan loved Alice like any other older brother would. When he was already born and grew up a little, Peter would pick fights with her every now and then but he still loved her dearly. I think I am the only one who knows this but our parents used to beat Alice up back then. How did I know? I snuck out of bed once to grab a cup of milk and I noticed the kitchen light was turned on. I heard voices and decided to wait until they were gone. Then I heard Alice's voice filled with fear and I heard a loud "Slap"! At first, I thought it was just a normal punishment, but I decided to peek into the kitchen and saw my father kicking my younger sister who had bruises all over her body. As my parents were leaving the kitchen with her, I ran to hide, but I could clearly see them carrying her into the storage room and locking her in there for the night. Scared, I went back to my room without getting noticed, pretending nothing had happened. Alice did not know what I had seen that night... And neither did my brothers and parents. The beatings continued for a long time and it was ten times worse when our father was drunk..."

Gavin shuddered at the memory, feeling himself pity his little sister as he continued, "One night, which was just about a couple of years ago, while my brothers and I were watching television, we noticed our parents and Alice heading out. Peter wanted to go along too but they said 'No'. When Scott asked where they were going, Mother said that it was none of his business. I have no idea what happened during the time when they were gone but the next thing we knew, our parents had died in the car crash and Alice survived. It was a huge impact on us and Scott probably suffered the most. He was already old enough to take care of us so we were not moved to an orphanage. And yes, Scott is quite old, probably about 20 plus this year... Anyway, Scott gave up his education and started work early to earn money for us. He hated it and he always blames Alice for everything... I'm not really sure if he truly hates her or if he still loves her. As for Brother Aidan, he offered to get a part-time job too but Scott said "no". Aidan was quite close to our parents so losing two people so dear to him had hurt him a lot too. Now he's over-protective over me since I'm the next thing that is really close to him. Peter is still a child so losing his parents at such a young age is also quite a huge blow to him. As for me, I was really sad at that time and I did blame Alice for a while. However, I realized that there was no point in blaming her. Plus, she did not even kill them... Or at least, not deliberately… I think… I'm not so sure..."

The American remained silent at the end of the story. Though some parts were slightly unclear, he still managed to get it. He felt bad; he had been such an insensitive busybody and never really thought about how Alice might feel about the subject.

"Ah! I've reached my house already... Would you like to come in...?"

"Ah, I'm Alfred!" the American introduced, realizing that he probably had not introduced himself.

"Pleased to meet you, Alfred. I think you are aware that my name is Gavin? Anyway, do come in. It would appear that it is getting late. Why don't you call home and say that you are staying here for the night?" the Welsh suggested, making the blonde grin and nod enthusiastically.

This was probably a good chance to find out more. He couldn't give up now, not when he had already came so far...!

**A/N: Okay, lame past, I know I know. I'm not done explaining. That's all Gavin knows, not Alice. You can't expect the guy to know ALL about his sister! What's he, a stalker? :T LOL.**


	5. Aidan and Peter Knows

If Alfred said that the Kirklands' home was just nice, he'd be lying. It was just awesome, emphasizing on "Awesome". He had no idea that they were rich, especially since Gavin had just told him that Scott quit studying and got a job, so he could not possibly have a very good job. Well, not likely, at least. Alfred then decided that their parents had probably left them a lot of money.

"Have you seen Jerk Alice?" a child asked the Welsh as he headed to the living room. Gavin simply shook his head and added, "Peter, you shouldn't call your sister a 'Jerk'... Plus i-it's usually meant for boys, not girls..."

The young blonde rolled his eyes in response.

An orange-haired teenager came out of the kitchen, apron on, and froze, staring right at Alfred. He remained silent before he finally said, "Diabhal é... Gavin... You never told me you were bringing a guest over..." The smell of Irish stew wafted through the air and it nearly made Alfred's mouth water.

"It's alright, Brother Aidan. Just give Alfred my portion. I'm not very hungry..."

At that statement, the Irish teen frowned, "Gavin! You can't keep skipping dinner! Look at you! You're so damned thin!"

Alfred took note that Gavin was, indeed, rather thin. The boy did not have as much muscles as most of the other boys in school and hell, he was so thin that Alfred could've sworn that he could break him just by pushing him.

"Ah, where's Brother Scott?"

"He's working late again," Aidan stated.

"Ah..."

"Where's Jerk Alice?"

The American thought that Gavin would be the one to tell the youngest to watch his language, but instead, the oldest in the room did, "Peter, watch it. You know that's not a nice thing to call your older sister."

That made Alfred confused. Didn't Aidan detest her? Why was he defending her? Or was he just teaching Peter some manners? It would make more sense if it was the last option, but something told the American that it was not. Of course, he was smart enough to know that asking them straightfowardly was not the smartest idea.

The main door clicked open and in came the only girl of the Kirkland family. Not a single word came out from her mouth but the fact that she had dropped her books when she saw Alfred confirmed the fact that she was surprised. Actually, more of shocked.

"Wha... What the bloody hell are you doing here, Jones?" she screamed, a negative emotion flashing through her eyes. As Gavin explained what had happened, excluding the part about Alice, said girl frowned and made her way up to her room, ignoring her little brother's insults and vulgarities.

Aidan was about to scold the youngest again but was reminded of the still-cooking meal and ran back into the kitchen, as if the place could blow up anytime.

"...Hang on... Weren't girls the one who were supposed to cook?" Alfred questioned, finding it odd that the second oldest brother was the one in the kitchen. Usually it was the woman of the house who did the chores. Call him a sexist but that was usually the way things were! In his neighbourhood, at least.

"Naaaaah! Bitch Alice's not allowed in the kitchen. Bro Scott and Aidan doesn't allow it," Peter stated, making the Welsh warn him about his language. The child simply shrugged. He continued, "Well, that and the fact that she doesn't really like going there. She prefers staying in her room. Huh! Probably bitching with other girls or something!"

"Hey! I'll have you know that Alice doesn't have any fr-" Alfred's sentence had been cut off by Gavin, making the youngest look at them suspiciously and the second oldest peep out of the kitchen, also staring at them suspiciously. Gavin mouthed the word "No" and the American felt like protesting, but if the older said not to, then he probably had a good reason.

The older blonde dragged the younger to one of the guest rooms and locked the door. He sighed before he stated, "Um, A-Alfred... Could you not mention that in front of my brothers? For Alice's pride's sake?"

"What? She's never told you guys that pretty much the entire school hates her and wants her dead? Well, I'm not sure about Francis but that guy's a perv so whateve-" At that moment, the American's phone vibrated and he muttered something like "Wow, what a coincidence" before shoving the phone into the older's face.

"Take a look at that, Gavin! All those in our class facebook group are even insulting her and stuff!" Alfred exclaimed. He was sure that Alice would have at least tried to tell her brothers about her problems, as, after all, no one could probably handle all that without anyone being there for them!

Gavin sighed, "Alice's pride is one of the most important things to her, apparently. So she boasts that her life is brilliant and perfectly fine, also saying that she doesn't need us." Sighing once again, he continued, "But it's obvious she does."

If Alfred didn't know better, he would say that the British girl was some sort of masochist, the way she was hurting herself like that.

Dinner came by quickly and everyone, excluding Gavin and Alice, were at the table. Alice had came down to grab her plate but she went back upstairs, not acknowledging anyone's presence. Peter muttered something like "Arrogant and proud jerk".

There was an awkward silence in the air before Alfred commented that the stew was amazing. The orange-haired teenager's expression brightened and he thanked the guest. Peter simply laughed.

"No, really! Hasn't anyone ever said that?" Alfred asked and Aidan simply shook his head, replying, "Not that I remember. Scott rarely comes home to eat, Gavin's too quiet and often skips dinner, and Peter likes insulting my cooking for some reason... Maybe it's because he doesn't like Irish food...?" The child stuck a tongue out at the oldest at the table, making the latter frown and exclaim a "Hey!"

"What about Alice?" At that, the table went quiet, making him wonder if he said something wrong. After all, it was just a name.

"Uh..."

"Jerk Alice has a very bad sense of taste!"

"Peter!"

Alfred blinked once. Then twice. Then thrice. Okay? It was just a bad sense of taste... So what? Why did they go so quiet?

"Okay, I know what you're thinking. Uh... Our mother used to suck at cooking. She burnt our food to black things and told us to eat it. Father never made a comment so we assume he had bad taste buds. Alice complained when she was finally fed up of the junk Mother served us and... Well... Mother and Alice headed to the kitchen and..." the oldest paused, then continued, "The next thing we knew, Alice's sense of taste went bad."

"Well, isn't it obvious? Your mother did something to make it like that! What, maybe stuff all that terrible stuff in her mouth or something and maybe her taste buds went numb or something like that shit!" the American shouted, unable to control himself.

"W-What? Look here, don't go bad-mouthing our mother! She's really kind so I doubt she'd do that to Alice! And is that even possible?" the Irish commented, shocked.

"Kind to you, maybe! But probably not to Alice!"

"What... What are you implying?" Aidan hesitated asking. Peter had absolutely no idea what the heck was going on. Well, not exactly "100%", but he barely knew what was going on. He did get the next part though.

"Has it ever occurred to you that your parents could've been terrible to Alice only and not you guys since she's so different? Heck! The only things you guys know how to do is blame her for everything! What, is it 'cuz she's a girl and you're fucking sexist? Or is it because you all think she was the cause of your parents' death?" the American exclaimed, ignoring the fact that Gavin had came downstairs to grab something and overheard everything. The other two brothers stood rooted to their spots, trying to get over the shock.

For Peter, not once did it ever occur to him. To him, his sister simply made their parents die, simple as that. Or... So he assumed she was the cause. No reason for it. He had always asked why she was still with them and not in jail, insulting her every chance he had and not considering her feelings. Killers had no feelings, Peter thought. He felt bad now, and here the teachers in school said he was more mature than the other kids. Mature his foot. Bah!

He was kind of surprised, actually; Just a few sentences by a complete stranger made him begin to think. But then again, words were really strong things - The best weapon a person has.

For Aidan, the thought had occurred at least a couple of times, but something in him said it was not possible. Maybe it was the fact that his parents were so loving towards him that made it hard to imagine them as child abusers? Possibly.

"But... People can't possibly hate someone just because they're different! That's... That's just cruel!" the Irish counter-attacked.

"Exactly!"

Silence filled the room, then the two brothers noticed Gavin standing at the door. Alfred turned around and noticed him before he swore under his breath.

"Alfred... Y-You said you wouldn't tell..." the Welsh uttered softly. Alfred nervously apologized, but stated that it was probably for the better. As Gavin was understanding, he simply nodded and said, "It's alright..."

"Wait, wouldn't tell what? Big bro, you knew?" Peter couldn't help but exclaim as Aidan stared at Gavin, as if demanding an answer. Slightly embarrassed and also nervous, the Welsh fidgeted and stared at his feet. The youngest boy gasped and muttered, "So he was telling the truth..."

Peter, suddenly having a change of attitude, exclaimed, "Holy shit! I've been blaming Bitch Alice for the wrong thing! I need to apologize!" But before the boy could rush up, Gavin grabbed his arm to stop him. The boy started to protest but the older told him why he should not let Alice know he knew...

At least, not yet.

It was then that they realized Aidan had left the room. Gavin panicked as he wondered whether his beloved older brother went to tell Alice or not. He hoped it was the latter. But then knowing his brother, he probably won't bother her as he was usually one who needed to register what was going on before accepting it and doing anything else.

And then it hit him.

Aidan probably couldn't accept it. Knowing him, he probably went to his room to think about it. Sighing, Gavin told Alfred and Peter what probably happened to Aidan and told them to go and rest before he went to wash the dishes... He really hoped his brother was fine. It was probably hard for him to accept.

Alfred had expected Peter to be the one who had problems with accepting the fact that their parents were not really... Good. So he was shocked to find out that it was the other one who had problems coping. Maybe Peter has the ability to just accept whatever seems to be right? Possibly.

Meanwhile in Aidan's room, the Irish felt guilty. Why? Because he had been mean to Alice like Scott was. Forcing her to do things and bossing her around, insulting her when he felt like it, though as he grew older, he tried to be nicer, but he continued to hate her. And if what the American and his dearest brother said was right, then Aidan had been wrong to be mean to her.

Wouldn't that mean that his parents' kindness was fake? Wouldn't that mean that all his thoughts on his sister was wrong? So everything was a lie?

And what's more, he contributed to Alice's suffering. Well, he and Scott, that is.

He didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. But somehow deep down, he had the feeling that they were not lying. Plus, Gavin rarely lied. Maybe he should apologize to Alice? He wanted to, but his pride told him not to.

Well, nevermind. He had the entire night to think through it anyway before he sees Alice again...

**A/N: Apparently, I'm losing my motivation to write TT_TT I just hope I can finish this and not make it too crappy OTL Sorry, guys**


	6. The Family Knows

The blonde girl woke up to the noise of people talking, maybe more of arguing, outside. She rolled her eyes, not bothering about it as that happened every morning! It was nothing new. But a new voice was heard and the girl immediately remembered: Alfred was here.

She prayed that Scott and the American were not at each others' throats already, as the voices she heard belonged to them. She could hear her other brothers trying to stop them. What she heard next though made her stunned for a while:

"I don't see why the Hell you keep picking on Alice! What I'm saying is the truth!"

They were talking about her? But why? What exactly was the "truth" Alfred had mentioned?

Quietly, Alice sneaked out of her room, finding a good spot that could prevent her from being seen and could also let her listen to what was going on.

"Don't tell me that you two actually believe this nonsense!" the Scottish young man exclaimed, referring to Peter and Aidan.

"Well, it seems to make sense..." the older one muttered while the younger chose to remain quiet.

"And Gavin! I know you are a nice guy and all, but this is far too much!" the redhead exclaimed, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Don't freaking scold Gavin, Scott!"

"Brother Aidan, calm down...!"

"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN!?" the American shouted, making everyone quiet for a while before he continued, "Look, I don't know why the Hell you don't believe me and hate Alice so much, but don't you think you're being too stubborn, you asshole?"

After a whole morning of trying to convince the eldest Kirkland about Alice's story, Alfred was finally losing his patience.

"It's impossible that our parents would be that terrible!"

Alice immediately froze. So they were talking about her and her parents. Could it be that they found out about her painful past? How did Alfred know?

"Oh, right! I forgot! Parents are always right! The kids never get any say! What the Hell is wrong with our society?!" Alfred screamed in anger before he took a deep breath and exhaled, then he continued, "But shouldn't she have a chance? Shouldn't you let her have a nicer life at least? What kind of a brother are you?! Alice, deep down, is just a shy and hurt girl! She can be nice and all if you'd just give her a FUCKING CHANCE!"

The British girl blushed. Why was he so concerned about her? Why was he so nice to her? She should feel pissed about this but somehow, she just couldn't. Was the feeling of getting helped by someone really that pleasant? She had never experienced it before but still...

Then she realized the house went quiet. Did Alfred just hit Scott's nerves or something?

And then it happened.

Scott punched the American so hard that the younger of the two fell on his bottom.

"Ow! Jesus! My nose!" Immediately, the Welsh ran to his friend's side, as if to try and warn the older one not to hurt him.

"Sure! Fine! Maybe I'm just a douchebag who can never get rid of hate! But I swear to Hell, she's not someone I'll ever love or forgive!"

"...What about those times when you loved her so adoringly when we were kids?" Gavin asked, his voice in a rare, serious tone.

"That... That was when I was a child! Children are more-"

"What about the time when you got worried when she came home late for the first time?"

"It's a natural instinct...!"

"It's only a natural instinct if you love her, Brother. Face it: deep down, you still love our dearest sister, Alice. In fact, we all still love her! We just chose to hide it with our hatred! Um, not me, actually, but... You know what I mean," the blonde with curly hair stated. The redhead remained silent, unable to say anything. Aidan simply stared. He had yelled and fought with Scott before, but he never had the guts to make a conclusion or anything like that before in front of Scott. Peter had gotten lost somewhere in the middle of the "conversation". Alfred was speechless.

And Alice? The poor girl had received the biggest shock in her life. Was what Gavin said right? Did they all still love her? For her entire life, she felt so unloved. So hated. It was true that everyone in school hated her, but her family? She was pretty much 100% sure about it, hence she never expected them to really...

No, no, no! It's a trick! She had been cheated of her feelings once, and it was not going to happen again! She wasn't going to believe it, no wa-

"ACHOO!"

...Fuck.

Alice swore to herself, cursing the fact that the area she hid in was a tad bit dirty.

When she looked, all heads were turned to look at her.

Double fuck.

"A-A-Alice?" Gavin and Aidan stuttered in unison. Alfred blushed, embarrassed that she had heard almost everything... Or maybe just fifty percent. Scott looked away from her, still unable to face the truth. Peter was simply staring blankly.

"You... Were... Listening...?" the Welsh's face turned into the colour of a tomato and he slowly went to hide behind his Irish brother. Alice simply nodded, unable to find any word to speak.

The silence was broken when Peter suddenly burst into tears and ran to hug his older sister, apologizing over and over.

"Wha- Get off, you bloody git! Peter! Seriously!"

"I'm so sorry for being so terrible! I'm sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Alfred could not help but to snicker at the scene in front of him, but then remembered that Alice might kill him for opening his big mouth. Immediately, he kept quiet.

"I... I'm sorry for telling everyone, Sister..." Gavin stuttered, bracing himself for the slap he was sure would come as he gripped Aidan's clothing harder, nearly ripping the fabric. The slap never came though.

Alice was still confused as to what to do. All the tears and waterworks were so sudden.

"I... It's al...right, I guess...?"

Suddenly, the second oldest Kirkland hugged his sister so tightly that she couldn't breathe.

"I'm not going to cry, but I'll say that I'm sorry for hurting you," Aidan said, trying not to make it so obvious he was holding back some tears. Guys do not cry. No way. Alice hesitantly hugged back, not used to the sudden contact.

She glared at the American, making him let out a soft "Eep". She stomped towards him, punched him straight in his face, breaking his nose once again, and then hugged him.

...Wait, what?

"You stupid arse. I feel bloody pissed at you but I just feel like I should thank you. Don't ask why." The moment Alfred laughed, Alice punched him again.

Then she realized she forgot someone - Scott. He was still trying not to make eye contact so he did not notice the girl walking towards him.

She hesitated, pulling back her hand every now and then, before she just hugged him tightly, shocking the older one.

"I... Don't know what to say... But, do you... Still love me like a sister?" she asked shyly, worried about her brother's reply.

The Scottish male seemed to ponder for a while, as if asking himself the question. Sighing in defeat, he finally returned the hug, surprising everyone else a little.

"I guess so. Yeah..."

It felt like a huge load had been taken off of Alice. She was no longer suffocating so much in her loneliness and sorrow. She was finally feeling a new thing from others - Love.

Sure, she still had all the other people she knew that hated her, but at least she knew that five people did not: Alfred, Scott, Aidan, Gavin, and Peter. It was better than nothing. Better than before.

But that brought a question into her head: Why did Alfred help her so much...?

She was going to ask the boy but as soon as she let go of her brother, she found out that the American had left the house.

Nevermind, she could always find him in school. And it wasn't like she liked him or anything, i-idiot!

**A/N: Rushing… Sorry**


	7. Starting of a Better Life?

It was awkward, really. As a way to apologize, Scott decided to bring everyone to school. He was especially nice to the British prefect, which was odd for her since there was a huge change in her family's behaviour.

Peter had been dropped off first, followed by the other three. Alice thanked her oldest brother awkwardly before she followed the other two into the school and Scott left for work.

Students stared, confused about the sudden change they noticed about the Kirkland family. And the atmosphere around Alice was... Different? It felt a bit more cheerful. Not too much, but a bit. The usually heavy atmosphere around her had been lifted a little.

"Alice, Brother Aidan and I have to head to the other direction from here on. Farewell and have a good day," the Welsh student said, smiling a sweet smile before waving, holding his older brother's hand and walking off, discussing what Aidan should make for dinner that night. The feeling of loneliness came back again as she saw her brothers walk off, and slowly, she began to feel nervous. She always felt nervous in school anyway... But to hide it, she put up her usual proud facade and went off.

A familiar girl with long hair blocked her with the help of her other friend with pink hair - Elena and Laura. They glared daggers at the prefect and she wondered why. It wasn't unusual for people to glare at her, but to block her...?

"How dare you invite Alfie over to your house?" Laura growled, her fists clenching. Elena fished out her phone and showed her Alfred's facebook page. It clearly said "Alice's house is amazing! She's great as Hell!". The blonde girl stared in shock, slightly angered at the idiotic git's stupid move.

"For your information, Jones was invited over by my third brother and it has absolutely nothing to do with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies-" Alice was about to walk off when Elena shrieked at her.

"Then why do you seem to happy today?! You're not meant to be happy! You never were! Obviously something happened!"

Oh, of all the...

Alice glared at the noisy teenager, making her slightly intimidated. She stated in a firm tone, "How exactly does my happiness concern you? And if you must know, my brothers and I finally patched things up. Nothing happened between Jones and I. Now, if you'll move your annoying faces out of my bloody wa-" She deliberately left out the hugging part.

"Alice~!"

Every student who had been crowding to look at what was going on turned their heads and stared at the popular American with shock. He seriously cracked. Or he's just crazy. Yep.

The two major Alfred F. Jones fans stuttered, eyes widened. Alice swore under her breath. Ignoring the other students, the blue-eyed American asked, "Hey, so how is it with your bros? Everything patched up?"

Alice blushed and wondered why, but she pushed the thought away and nodded. She was not going to thank him though, not in front of everyone, at least. Alfred, noticing the glares, immediately grabbed Alice's hand and began to walk away. Everyone stared and gasped. What shocked them more was that the prefect did not even try to pull away.

"Wha-" some students started, but were interrupted.

"Yo, if anyone of you has gotta problem with Alice, you come and find me. I'm her hero and forever will be! She ain't even as bad as she seems," the American stated seriously before he pulled the girl to their first class.

'I'm her hero and forever will be'? What did that mean? Why was he so nice? Wha-? Alice's thoughts were muddled up.

During class, she could feel people staring at her, but whether it was actually glaring or just out of confusion, she did not know.

After class, someone unexpectedly approached her. "Ummm... Alice-san, I apologize for being awfully mean to you and for hurting your feelings. Gomenasai! I do hope that no grudges are held and that we may one day be friends!" the Japanese student, Kiku, bowed exactly ninety degrees as he said this before he ran off to another class, blushing a little as he was obviously embarrassed.

Kiku was a popular guy in school and was an average Japanese pretty boy, so he naturally had fans. His weakness, though, was that he was too naive and shy.

As his fans stared in shock, Alice wondered why the Japanese suddenly apologized. She had a hunch though: As Alfred was sitting between her and Kiku, he could easily talk to him. And as he could do that, he probably persuaded the boy to apologize after class.

A tap on her shoulder made her turn around, only to find herself facing Kiku's fans. She expected herself to be bombarded with hateful words, but the girls shyly bowed the same as Kiku.

"Ummm... As Kiku-kun apologized, we think that maybe you're not such a bad person as we thought? We apologize for anything we did to hurt you!" And with that, they, too, ran off. Obviously they tried to follow Kiku's Japanese ways by bowing and using Japanese formalities.

Alice froze. All these apologies were just too sudden for her. How was she supposed to react? God, when was that dumb America dweeb when you needed him?! Oh wait, he was the cause of all the apologies in the first place!

Words spreaded like fire. Kiku's fans told their friends about what they think of the British prefect, and they told their friends, and so on and so forth. Apologies spilt everywhere and Alice didn't know how to take any of them. She either shyly nodded or stutter a "I-It's fine, I guess?", making people realize that perhaps she was as shy as what Alfred sometimes mentioned?

She still received some glares from Alfred's fans though, but she felt a tad bit better since now not the entire student body wanted her dead. Besides, you can't make everyone love you! Even Alfred's got some enemies. Like that guy from Cuba! And even Ivan, a guy from Russia, didn't really like him.

"Alice, hey!" the familiar American voice called out to her. Alfred approached her, slightly surprised by the small smile attached to her face. He exclaimed, "Woah! What the Hell, Alice! Why didn't you tell me you had such a beautiful smile?! Oh, wait... Wait!"

An awkward silence filled the air as Alfred realized what he had just said. Alice blushed a deep red, and students passing by were either green with envy or just looking, letting out a soft "Ooooh".

"Uh... Let's get to class," the Brit said, clearing the awkward silence and making some students groan with disappointment.

Deep in the crowd, Kiku and some of his fans were watching. A fan tapped on his shoulder before whispering, "Alfred and Alice?"

The Japanese nodded before he commented, "Yes, a new couple has been born... Now to draw up a comic for this ship. Shall I make it fluffy or...?"

**A/N: Guess who ain't dead?**


	8. So Close

Ever since he came to the Academy, he had done nothing but help her. He didn't give a crap about her reputation, and he didn't care about her facade. He only cared about her feelings and making her happy. Why, though? Was he another one of those boys who wanted to win the hearts of hard-to-get girls and then break them? Even though he did not seem like it, Alice decided that she should remain cautious. Alfred never noticed that Alice did not trust him 100% though...

About a month or so passed since the prefect's life made a drastic change. She still had many enemies, but she made new friends. She still could not tolerate Francis though... Every once in a while, Alfred's fans, especially Elena and Laura, would try to pick on her, but the American would chase them off, making their hatred for her grow.

Elena had tried many ways to take revenge on the prefect, but she failed many times. There was once in Chemistry class, she tried to throw some chemicals onto Alice. Her goal was to distort her face, but the chemicals missed and ended up on the floor, causing the tiles on the ground to become damaged. Some students said that they saw Elena tossing it at Alice, but Elena convinced the poor, naive teacher that she "spilt" it, causing the other students to get scolded. Alice knew, of course, but chose to remain silent about it since she did not want to get punished when the teacher obviously believed the other girl.

After another day of failing to get revenge on Alice, the two fans headed out of school, grumbling about "stupid Alice". They were so mad that they did not realize that a van was headed towards them. Luckily for them, Alice happened to be walking home from that direction and noticed. She could have just let them get ran over, but she, being a kind person underneath her "Tsundere" (Or whatever Kiku calls it) facade, ran and pushed them out of the way.

The two girls scraped their skin and bled, but before they could lash out at the girl, they realized that she would not, no, could not listen anyway. There she lay on the ground, bleeding profusely from the head. The van driver was panicking and quickly called for an ambulance. Alfred, who just came out of school, noticed what was going on and rushed forward.

"A-Alfie! A-Alice is...!" Laura stammered, panicking. Alfred, being a certified first-aider, began to do Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, or in short, CPR, when he realized that she was neither breathing nor was her heart working.

If your brain is still working, you're not technically dead yet. So if you can get the heart to work before the brain stops functioning, which is about 4 to 6 minutes, the person may live.

He was worried that he may crack her ribs in the process, but according to first aid class, getting the heart to function is more important than the ribs. The surgeons will fix that after they get to the hospital. Of course, he had to be careful not to make it break so bad that it punctures her lungs.

Praying that he would not foul up, he started the CPR. He hesitated when their lips had to touch, but decided her life was more important. The two girls did not complain when he "kissed" her, surprising the American. Maybe the two of them were not as crazy as they seemed. Or maybe they were too scared to even register anything in their puny little brai- Oh wait. Focus.

It seemed like forever before the ambulance arrived. Paramedics took over and drove off to the hospital. Alfred called Gavin and the Welsh informed his brothers.

During the drive to the hospital, the American could feel his heart pounding... Hard and fast. All the while praying for the British prefect's life, he finally made it to the hospital where he met the Kirklands.

Peter was in hysterics as he had, after all, just patched up with his sister and of all things to happen, she got into an accident. She couldn't die. She mustn't die. Not when they finally made up. Not when the entire family had finally made peace!

Gavin was hugging the youngest, trying to make him calm down, as well as hoping that his sister would be safe.

Aidan was holding back tears, praying hard. He had never really been THAT religious, but for once in a rare time, he was sincerely praying.

Scott paced around in small circles, anxiously waiting to hear some news. Whenever he saw a doctor, he would immediately ask about his sister.

Alfred could only glare out the window. A mixture of feelings mixed within him. He felt anger, worry, as well as sorrow. He was going to kill those two girls, but at the same time, he knew it wasn't really their fault... Not deliberately, anyway. He felt his heart break at the thought of Alice dying. He was supposed to be her hero! If she died, then what...?

The next thing Alfred knew, Gavin was shaking him awake. When did he even fall asleep? And was Gavin... Crying? Not the sad way though. A small smile was pasted on his face. Immediately, Alfred knew Alice was fine. He didn't know whether to cry in tears of happiness, or to scream with joy.

Peter was the first one to reach Alice, hugging her waist tightly, making her yelp in pain and causing Scott to pry him away from her. Aidan did not know how to react so he ended up stuttering and his words did not really make any sense.

"A-A-Alice! I worried y-you accident d-d-die!" Somehow or rather though, Alice managed to understand what the Irish wanted to say. Scott felt that crying or hugging would ruin his pride, but Gavin forced him to hug their sister. Once again, Alfred had to witness a mushy family moment and he jokingly let out an "ew". It was only then that Alice realized the American was there.

He had helped her again. Why? Even those guys who liked winning hard-to-get girls never ever did that, according to what she observed. Was he just an extreme case? Or...?

Alice blushed.

No way, it couldn't be...?

Wait, why did she even care? She never even cared this much before. Wait, why was she blushing again?

The American broke her train of thoughts.

"Er, Alice? When you had the accident, I sorta..." Alice found herself listening eagerly as Alfred continued, "Stole your first kiss... Or... I think it's your first kiss... Pleasedon'tkillmeIswearitwascompletely necessary!"

Alice thought she was going to faint. The thought of Alfred's lips on her's...! Wait, why did she even care?! It was a necessary thing to do for CPR! She should just shrug it off. So why...?

Then it struck her.

Was she...? Perhaps...? That's impossible, right?

"Alice, why are you staring at me? I know I'm hot and all, but..."

No... It couldn't be...!

"Sister, why do you keep staring at Alfred?" Gavin's soft voice reached her, breaking her thoughts. She blushed as she was caught.

"B-Because I was wondering why he looks like such an idiot!" she exclaimed, the blush still present on her face. Alfred laughed it off, "Haha! See, this is what Kiku meant by tsundere! You know you like me!"

If possible, the blush deepened.

"W-Wha-?"

"Hahaha~! I was just kidding!"

The Brit sent a punch across his face, yelling profanities while Scott hold her back from killing the American. God, he scared the living Hell out of her.

"ALICE! IT WAS A JOKE! I'M SORRY!" Alfred exclaimed, now fearing for his life. Alice settled back on the bed, ignoring the pain she felt from suddenly moving.

"Brother, can I get out of this blasted hospital? I have homework I need to do," she grumbled. She did not like this hospital. Not a single bit. Scott pondered before he went off to ask a doctor. Peter and Gavin went off to grab something to eat from the cafeteria and Aidan fell asleep as school had worn him out.

The awkward silence made both of them feel uneasy. Alice decided to dive back into her own thoughts until...

"Alice?" Ah, his serious tone was back. Said girl looked at him, curious as to what he was going to say next. The teen continued, "You know when I said I would be your hero forever? I... I actually meant it."

...Huh?

"Wait, what are you blabbering about, Jones? Are you having a fever or-?" the emerald-eyed girl stuttered, feeling completely flustered.

"No, seriously. You see Alice, the first time I saw you, I felt like you were different. I could see that you weren't what everyone made you seem like. I found your smile really pretty and, heck, even your eyebrows are cute!"

Wait, was he going to...?

"You weren't like many other girls and I wondered why I thought like that until I realized..."

No way...

"Um, you see, Alice, I..."

He's seriously going to say it?

"I really... Gah, this is hard! I really-"

"Hey, Alice. I asked the doctor and 'convinced' him to let you out soon. He says you should be out by the end of tomorrow," interrupted someone in particular. Alice wasn't sure whether to heave a sigh of relief or glare daggers at Scott. Alfred literally slapped his own forehead with his hand.

Upon seeing their actions, the Scottish young man could only wonder if he had interrupted something.

**A/N: Sorry if this is terrible. I was half-asleep and really wanted to upload the next chapter 'cuz I felt like I was letting you guys wait too long.**


	9. Safe At Last

It wasn't long before the entire accident incident settled down. It was odd for Alice when Laura and Elena stopped bothering her. Heck, they even apologized to her! And that shocked nearly the entire school.

Although the entire incident was over and all, one thing still bothered the British prefect - Alfred liked her. She definitely knew it. Though he did not manage to make a proper confession, it was damn obvious. Sadly, the failed confession embarrassed the American to the extent that he was no longer able to look at Alice straight in the eyes. He still hung out with her, but he wasn't exactly himself. Alfred didn't think it was so obvious, but it actually was! Even the oblivious Feliciano noticed!

Why was he so nervous though? Okay, so he was embarrassed. But why was he even embarrassed? Oh wait... Was it perhaps because he was afraid Alice might reject him? Said girl thought for a while and concluded that perhaps her theory was right.

But did he really have to be afraid? She wouldn't even reject hi-

...

Wait.

Huh?

"Oh my..." the prefect muttered softly to herself. Did she honestly... Was she really in love with that idiotic American? She tried to calm herself down and decided to try and confirm her feelings.

According to what she heard, when one was in love, there should be a fluffy feeling inside at the thought of their crush. Did she have that?

Alice took a moment to close her eyes and think of Alfred's smiling face.

...Yes. The feeling was present.

A few minutes of "testing" and stuff passed and all of it ended with a "yes". So indeed, she was in love...

"...Miss Kirkland, are you having a fever? Your face is red," the teacher's voice suddenly made it to her mind. Immediately, she shook her head hastily and denied it. The teacher shrugged and returned to teaching.

Alice never believed it when teen-aged girls rambled on about love and crap like that, but now that she was experiencing it, it felt so... Weird.

She didn't know when she made this decision, but she knew she would probably never be able to look at Alfred the same way again.

And that, after a few weeks, made the American confused.

Said teen was still embarrassed for the first few days and never noticed. But eventually, he got over it and began to notice something strange about Alice.

Sure, she hung out with him. She talked to him. She laughed with him. And she still let him come over to her house. So why...? Why wasn't she looking at his eyes when they talked?! In fact, she tried not to look at him when possible! She often kept her head down and all... As if she was trying to avoid him or something.

Was this revenge for not acting normal?! Or maybe it was because she knew of his feelings?

Before the boy knew it, he grew frantic and paranoid. He wanted to know what was going on. So he decided to question his friends.

"Ve~! Maybe she got a lover? Ne, ne! Alfred, you wanna get some pasta?" a certain Italian said.

"Maybe you made her angry," suggested a few people, including Ludwig, Gilbert and Matthew.

"Perhaps she did something naughty and can't look at you the same way, no?" a certain perverted French suggested, earning a punch.

A Chinese student had suggested something that was actually how Alice really felt, but unfortunately, he said it in Chinese by accident and Alfred left before he could say it in English.

"Perhaps she has secret plans and is unable to tell you, Alfred-san?" Kiku suggested, though he doubted it himself.

"Maybe she wants to become one with Mother Russia, da?" suggested Ivan, who happened to be eavesdropping. Alfred, who was creeped out, left.

The popular American was now in a major state of confusion. Which was true? Was it because she was mad? Did she have secret plans? What was she thinking?

Gathering enough courage, he decided to go and ask the Brit.

"Alice~!"

Ah, there was that odd behaviour again. Why wouldn't she just look at him?

"What is it, you bloody git?" her tone was normal, but...

"Well, it's just..." Alfred paused and switched to a serious, concerned tone, "I'm worried..."

This caused Alice to become confused as well, "Worried?"

"Why... Why aren't you looking at me?" The sudden outburst caused Alice to become shocked. Ooooh... That.

"It's... Nothing. Get your bloody eyes checked! I was always looking at you! You're probably hallucinating!" the emerald-eyed girl exclaimed, not really ready to tell him her feelings.

"I swear I'm not crazy or hallucinating! Alice, why-? Is this revenge for my awkwardness?"

"What blasphemy is that? That is utter rubbish, I assure you-"

"If that's rubbish, then why don't you just look at me! It's making me crazy! It's like you're avoiding me or something!"

"I can assure you it's not, Jones!"

"Then please! Can we just go back to being normal? I'm getting anxiety attacks from this! Are you sure you're not up to something? How can I be so sure that it's not something worrying? Alice, please tell me why you're acting differently!"

"IT'S BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

...

A long pause.

Slowly, a deep red blush started creeping up the prefect's face. She finally looked into his eyes when she exclaimed that and they both stared at each other, blushing.

"I..." the American broke the silence, "Alice... Why couldn't you just tell me that...?"

Said girl looked down at the floor, feeling a little guilty.

"You knew I liked you, so it's no big deal if you told me..."

At that statement, she snorted and started, "'No big deal'? Perhaps to you, I suppose. I have never experienced love to this extent before. I suppose I'm happy, but... It's also scary..."

Alfred was, once again, confused. Scary?

Next thing he knew, she began to break down in tears.

"I suppose I'm being dramatic but... The people I trusted and depended on betrayed me and used me. I never trusted anyone in my school life again. So I was worried that what if... What if you were the same!" It was the first time in life that Alice began to pour out her true feelings, "I know it's pathetic to suspect you but suddenly changing my mind isn't very easy! I've been hurt far too many times and even though it doesn't look like it to other people, it hurts a lot. It's like having your heart torn to smithereens and once those pieces are back together again, it gets torn apart once again by another person. It's like no one can ever be trusted! So I never believed in other people again and I'm afraid of believing in you! Hell, I don't even know what to do!"

Alice sniffled and smiled sadly, "Heh, look at me. I'm pathetically breaking down after throwing a dramatic life story at you. This is how pathetic the once proud Alice Kirkland has become, huh? Hell, even I don't get what I even said!"

The next thing she noticed, there were warm hands wiping her tears off. It shocked her greatly when the American then decided to embrace her.

"J-Jones-?"

"Shh..." a calm voice which belonged to Alfred soothed her, oddly enough. He continued, "Don't say anymore. I'm glad you decided to tell me everything and your worries. I promise you, I'll never hurt you like those traitors..."

Alfred made a space between the two as he continued, "After all, I'm your hero." And with that, his warm lips met her soft ones.

For once in her life, Alice felt safe...

**A/N: I'm sorry about this chapter. Heck, I'm sorry for living. *attempts to jump off the building* Haha, just kidding. Okay, that was pathetic, really.**

**Anyway, I'm afraid I lost interest and was in a rush to finish this sooo... Yep.**


End file.
